The Scanner Squad told me that someone had been caught up in the rushing flood waters 45 minutes before the first headline appeared.

They let me know that the Keo Way exit was blocked and people were driving the wrong way up the ramp to safety at least 30 minutes before TV switched to live storm coverage.

And they updated me in real time throughout the night with just how bad the city and the surrounding areas were hurting as the waters receded.

But unlike first responders, who hit the streets to search and rescue, this squad exists entirely online. A Facebook group called the Des Moines Scanner Squad has a ground force of thousands across the metro area whose sole mission is to deliver information, dispel rumors and trade in knowledge at the moments when the stakes are high.

“It takes a village to keep the public informed with up-to-date and accurate information,” Jesse Kluesner, 46, one of the Scanner Squad’s administrators told me after catching just a few hours of sleep between shifts carefully monitoring the page for veracity.

In disasters such as the rushing flood waters that overtook our city’s streets Saturday night, social media has changed how people and organizations respond.

Unlike in past natural disasters, including the floods of 1993 and 2008, the information doesn’t have to come to you, you can go find it and you can be a part of it.

“If we had something like this in 1993, it would have made a huge difference,” Kluesner said. “I was living in Valley Junction and the city was literally cut in half, so just knowing how to get around or what areas to avoid and being able to get that in real-time, wherever you are, would have saved a lot of time and heartache and, maybe, lives.”

The wooden railing is the only visible part of the bike path that can be seen as the rising water spills over the banks of the Des Moines River Tuesday, June 26, 2018, at Birdland Park in Des Moines. Michael Zamora/The Register

The wooden railing is the only visible part of the bike path that can be seen as the rising water spills over the banks of the Des Moines River Tuesday, June 26, 2018, at Birdland Park in Des Moines. Michael Zamora/The Register

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Saturday night, the group, which isn’t even a year old, experienced its first natural disaster. By 10 p.m., a member had started a flooding thread that was being updated almost second-by-second by the group’s members.

Less than 24 hours later, there were more than 1,000 tips, questions, comments and stories in the thread. And membership in the group had reached an all-time high.

In addition to listening to the local police scanners, the squad members scour the internet for information and check media for updates. The group isn’t there to hinder investigations or to crack cases, Kluesner said. It exists to put out information to keep people safe.

As the rains fell over the weekend, Kluesner watched TV and listened to the scanner while interacting with group members and answering questions.

Early Sunday morning, he exchanged messages with a member who lives near Fourmile Creek. He told her to stay ready because history says the area is prone to fast, heavy flooding and she might need to evacuate.

For Kluesner, that’s proof positive that the group is working in the way it is supposed to. But he stressed that it is the group — not one single person — that keeps the wheels of knowledge turning.

“In a case like this, there is so much information to sift through, and we need people who are dedicated to the truth to do that," he said. "We couldn’t ask for a better group, honestly. I am so proud of the response from this weekend.”

Throughout Sunday, Shekinah Young, the city’s chief communications officer, was receiving tips, questions and comments to the city’s Facebook page.

“I think, sometimes, the government is seen in an adversarial light, but we really are here for you and we want to partner with you and to help you," she said. "The advent of social media has allowed us to open those channels to different populations of people and speed up our ability to assist.”

The value of having that direct line of communication really cannot be overstressed, she said.

Sgt. Paul Parizek, who was posting about the efforts of the Des Moines Police Department for much of Sunday morning, agreed.

"The thing with social media is that we are able to reach a lot of people fast," he said. "It’s instantaneous. We can get our message out."

With thousands of eyes and ears on the streets, social media can also be used to crowd-source stories.

The biggest change Mollie Cooney, who covered lots of disasters in her decades-long career with KCCI-TV Channel 8, has seen is the reliance on instant photos and videos.

"As long as the information is correct, the station can give viewers up-to-date photos and videos in a manner of minutes," she said. "We had to get cameras and tripods and engineers and the vans and whole gang together, and now you can go live on a phone. What that adds to a story is really monumental."

"Ten years ago, you would put out two or three news releases a day for a major event. One in the morning, perhaps an update at mid-day and then something to update the media for the evening news," the post reads. "This is history, given the shift to providing information via social media. The flow can be continuous and the media and your citizens have come to expect this type of immediacy."

Polk County Emergency Management doesn’t have a dedicated social media person, said A.J. Mumm, the group's director.

“In my generation, we dialed 911 when we felt like we were in danger," he said. "Today, people are much more likely to take out their phone and start streaming video. So we are still figuring out how to use those tools — social media tools — effectively."

In general, Mumm said, the Polk County Emergency Management Facebook page gets almost 10 times more interactions to posts about disaster information than they do when they put out tips about how to stay safe.

“Obviously, I wish we were getting more interactions on the preparedness posts,” he said.

As the city moves into the recovery phase, social media will continue to play a large role.

Kevin Cooney, a former newscaster who worked many of Central Iowa's most important stories in his decades-long career, saw a few posts from churches and other charitable groups collecting supplies that told people not to call, but just show up.

"It’s almost like that neighbor-helping-neighbor idea has spread to the internet," he said. "Now, you don’t even have to be a neighbor to help — you can be directed to where to be a neighbor through Facebook."

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Shane Rhoades returns to his home that exploded during the flash flood last night on Sunday, July 1, 2018, in Urbandale. Rhoades said he and his wife were overtaken by water while in their basement but were saved when a wall gave out and they were swept outside.(Photo11: Brian Powers/The Register)

Parizek and other officials plan to use social media to communicate where those in need can get resources.

"If they can't get back to their house or whatever the case may be, we know that they can pick up their phone or hop on their computer and figure out where they can go," he said.

In the new age of disaster management, people don't have to wait for calls to learn what to do. They can tweet and message and post.

Or, like me, they can monitor the Scanner Squad.

COURTNEY CROWDER, the Register's Iowa Columnist, is a parallel parking master acquainting herself with gravel roads. You can contact her at (515) 284-8360 or ccrowder@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter @courtneycare.